Pressure-applying device



June 11, 1929. .1. R. NowAcK PRESSURE APPLYING DEVICE Filed Dec. 4, 1925 m /4 MW, m

Patented June 11, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JULIUS RICHARD NOWAGK, OF SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, A$$IGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATERSON, NEVT JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

PRESSURE-APPLYING DEVICE.

Application filed December 4, 1925, Serial No. 73,181, and in Australia January 16, 1925.

This invention relates to pressure applying devices and is herein illustrated as embodied in a clamping device for holding heel breast coverings in place during the drying of adhesive which is employed for attaching them permanently to the heels. Heel breast coverings such as are ordinarily employed to cover the breasts of Louls andlike shaped heels are commonly made by splitting the rear or heel portion of the outsole of the shoe to form a relatively thin leaf or flap which is turned back and coated with adhesive upon its inner surface and then applied to the breast of a heel after the heel has been attached to the shoe. The adhesive employed is usually of such a nature that it requires a, certain amount of time to set and in order that the breast leaf shall be smoothly and evenly applied to the heel breast, it is necessary that the leaf be held in place under a substantial amount of pressure during the setting of the adhesive. It has been the practice to employ, for the purpose of holding a breast covering in place against a heel, a presser member which has a heel-engagipg surface shaped to approximate more or less roughly the curvature of the heel breast and which is made of more or less yielding or resilient "material so that it will conform Within certain limits to variations in the contours of heel breasts of different styles.

One object of the present invention is to provide a device of the class above referred to having a heel breast engaging presser member which is readily conformable to adapt itself to all shapes and styles of heel breasts and yet is capable of applying pressure uniformly throughout the entire surface of the breast leaf so that it will be smoothly positioned on the finished shoe.

Vith this object in View, a feature of the invention consists in the provision, in a device for holding heel breast coverings in place, of a presser member in the form of an elongated hollow pad shaped to engage the heel breast and shank portions of a plurality of shoes arranged side by side, said pad being supported interiorly by the pressure of air or other fluid capable of elastic deflection to such a degree as to enable the pad to conform to the contours of the breasts of the heels irrespective of wide variations in the shapes and sizes of the heel breasts, and means for relatively moving the pad and the shoes to cause the pad to apply evenly distributed pressure to the heel breast. As herein illustrated, the presser member comprises a length of elastic rubber tubing closed at its ends and containing air under such pressure that when a shoe is pressed against the tubing the latter will conform to the contour of the heel breast and adjacent waist or shank portion of the sole so as to insure that the breast leaf will be firmly held in place during the setting of the ad hesive. To insure that the presser member will seat effectively in the angle of the heel breast the shoe ispressed against the presser member by means of a clamping device arranged to engage the upper rear portion of a last in the shoe and to apply pressure above 7 the heel and in a direction inclined with respect to. the sole of the shoe. As shown, the tubing comprising the presser member is long enough to support, in side-by-side relation, a plurality of shoes and the clamping means may be arranged to clamp the shoes either separately or simultaneously as may be desired.

The invention further consists in the fea- I tures of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed, the advantages of which will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

In the drawings,

Fig. lis a perspective view of a device constructed in accordance with the invention, the device being shown in operation upon a plurality of shoes; and

Fig. 2 is a section taken substantially along the line 11-11 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, a breast leaf engaging presser member or pad 4; consisting of a length of elastic rubber tubing eX- tends along the upper side of a rigidly mounted horizontally disposed supporting bar 6 and is conveniently held in place upon the bar 6 by a series of U-sh'aped straps 8 which encircle the tubing at spaced intervals and are secured at their ends to the bar 6 by means of bolts 10. The straps 8 are separated by distauces sufficient to permit a shoe to be placed upon the pad 4 between each pair of straps 8. The tubing comprising the pad 4 is closed at its ends and a valve stem 12, connected with the tubing and extending downwardly through an aperture in the bar 5, is provided with a suitable valve 14: through which air or other fluid may be forced to inflate the tube to the desired de gree. After the breast leaf has been coated with adhesive and laid in place against the breast of the heel and adjacent shank portion oi. the sole of a shoe, the shoe is positioned substantially as shown in the draw ings with the heel breast and shank portion of the sole resting upon the pad 4 and with the sole inclined downwardly. To insure that the pad t will conform to the contour of the heel breast and shank of the sole and will apply pressure to the breast leaf covering these parts, each shoe is presse downwardly against the pad 4: by means of a clamping device comprising a cam leverle mounted upon a horizontal rod 18 which is disposed in parallel relation to the bar 6 above the heel portion of the shoe. The rod 18 is supported at its ends in blocks 20 adjustably secured to posts 22 rising from the bar 6. As shown, the cam levers 16 are formed with clamping portions 24: arranged to apply clamping pressure to the shoe through the medium of a contact member 26 interposed between the cam lever and a last 28 in the shoe 80, the contact member 26 consisting of a short length of angle iron the inner surface of which is lined with felt and is adapted to receive the upper rear corner of the last. The free extremities of the cam levers l6 constitute handles by means of which the levers may be turned to apply or release the clamping pressure. The clamping portions 24 of the cam levers 16 are so shaped that when the levers 16 are raised they will not interfere with the placing of the shoes in position upon the pad 4 preparatory to applying clamping pressure to the shoes or the removal of the shoes after the adhesive on the breast leaf has set. When the cam levers 16 have been lowered into clamping position the shoes will be depressed against the pad at sufficiently to insure that the latter will conform to the contour of the heel breast and shank portion of the sole and will firmly hold the breast leaf in place.

If desired the several contact members 26 may be replaced by a single angle iron contact member, as indicated by dotted lines at 32 in Fig. 1, arranged to engage the lasts in a plurality of shoes and to be acted upon by two or more of the cam levers 16 or other clamping devices so that clamping pressure may be applied simultaneously to a plurality of shoes. The contact member 32 may be apertured at its ends, as shown at 34:, to receive the posts 22 so that the contact member will be guided by the posts and springs 36 may be coiled about the posts 22 between the contact member 32 and adjustable abut ment collars 38 on the posts to support the contact member normally in raised position.

The invention having been described, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a device for holding heel breast coverings in place, an elongated hollow presser pad shaped to engage the heel breast and shank port-ions of a plurality of shoes arranged side by side, said pad being supported interior-1y by the pressure of a fluid capable of elastic deflection to such a degree as to enable the pad to conform to the contours of the breasts of the heels irrespective of wide variations in the shapes and sizes of the heel breasts, and means for relatively moving the pad and the shoes to cause the pad to apply evenly distributed pressure to the heel breasts.

2. In a device of the class described, an elongated support for a row of shoes having adhesive coated heel coverings, a pneumatic pressure pad capable of elastic deflect-ion to engage and conform to the contours of the breasts of shoe heels irrespective of wide variations in the shape and size of the heel breasts, to hold the coverings in place 'during the drying of the adhesive, and means for relatively moving the pad and the shoes to cause the pad to apply evenly distributed pressure throughout all portions of each heel breast.

3. In a-device of the class described, an elongated pnerunatic pressure pad shaped and arranged to engage the heel breasts and shank portions of a plurality of shoes mount ed on lasts and arranged side by side, each heel breast having an adhesive coated covering applied thereto aild the padbeing capable of elastic deflection to engage and conform to the contours of the breasts of all the heels irrespective of widd variations in the shapes and sizes of the heel breasts, and a plurality of devices arranged to operate independently of one another through engagement with exposed portions of the lasts for press ing the shoes against the pad to cause the pad to apply evenly distributed pressure to all portions of the parts engaged thereby.

4. In a device of the class described, clamping appliances arranged to co-operate to hold a shoe between them and comprising an elongated pneumatic member shapedto extend beyond each side of the shoe and adapted to engage a covering applied to the breast of a heel on the shoe to hold the covering in place, a support for the pneumatic member, and fastening devices spaced apart lengthwise of said member a distance greater than the width of a shoe for securing said member to said support.

5. In a device of the class described, clamping appliances arranged to co operate to hold in side-by-side relation between thema plurality of shoes, said appliances comprising an elongated, inflated tube for engaging the coverings applied to the heels of the shoes to hold the coverings in place.

6. In a device of the class described, a pneumatic member for engaging a covering applied to the breast of a heel, a support upon which said member rests, spaced straps bridging the exposed portions of said member for securing the member to said support, and means for pressing the heel against said member to cause the latter to conform to the shape of the heel breast.

7. In a device of the class described, a pneumatic tubular member shaped to engage coverings applied to the heel breasts and shank portions of a roW of shoes, said member being mounted upon a rigid support and having an exposed surface normally of cylindraceous contour, and means engageable with a last in the shoe for pressing the heel covering against the heel to cause the covering to conform to the contour of the heel breast.

8. In a device of the class described, a pneumatic member for engaging the coverings applied to the breasts of heels applied to a plurality of shoes, and means engageable with lasts in said shoes for pressing the heels against said member to cause the latter to conform to the contours of the heel breasts.

9. In a device of the class described, a pneumatic member for engaging the coverings applied to the breasts of heels upon a plurality of shoes, and independent clamping devices associated With the several shoes for pressing the heels against said member to cause the latter to conform to the contours of the heel breasts.

10. In a device of the class described, an inflated tube having one side secured to a stationary support and another side of cylindraceous cross section for engaging the breast covering of a heel on a shoe, a contact member engageable With the upper rear portion of a last in the shoe, and means engageable with said contact member for pressing the heel against the tube to cause the latter to conform to the contour of the heel breast.

11. In a device of the class described, a tube conformable under pressure to the contour of the breasts of heels of different sizes and styles for engaging a covering applied to the breast of a heel on a shoe, a stationary support for said means, a contact member engageable with the upper rear portion of a last in the shoe, and a manually operable rotary cam mounted on said stationary support and engageable with said contact member for pressing the heel against the tube to cause the latter to conform to the contour of the heel breast.

12. In a device of the class described, an elongated, inflated tube for engaging the breast coverings upon the heels of a plurality of shoes and for supporting the shoes, a rod extending above the shoes thus supported, and a plurality of clamping devices on said rod independently operable for pressing the shoes against the tube.

13. In a device'of the class described, an elongated, inflated tube for engaging the breast coverings upon the heels of a plurality of shoes and for supporting the shoes, a rod extending above the shoes thus supported, cam members rotatably mounted on the rod, and means for actuating said cam members independently to clamp the shoes against the tube.

14-. In a device of the class described, a stationary frame, a resilient presser member secured to said frame, and a cam mem ber mounted on said frame and adapted to engage with a last in a shoe to clamp the. shoe against the presser member to cause the latter to engage and conform to the contour of the breast of the heel and adjacent shank portion of the sole of the shoe, said member being movable into a position for positively maintaining the clamping pressure.

In testimony whereof I have signed myname to this specification.

JULIUS RICHARD NOWAGK. 

